Volume 1 - Iraq Watch

Possible Syrian Breaches of UN SanctionsSummary of Syrian involvement 2001-2003: Withthe assistance of Firas Tlas, the son of the formerSyrian Defense Minister, Damascus offered Iraqmissile technology and fuels. Firas Tlas and the MASEconomic Group offered Iraq the services of SouthAfrican engineer, Chinese, and Syrian Engineers in2002. Firas Tlas made several additional visits toIraq and signed several military contracts. Syria alsooffered the services of a French expert who expressedhis wish to visit Iraq to provide details about documents.Syria also planned to supply Iraq with spareparts for a 155mm weapon system in March 2003.called “Sterlite” in the West. Reportedly, Izakoffsaid the missiles had a range of 1500km and werevery accurate. Tlas said Izakoff claimed that missileswere destroyed by Mikhail Gorbachev, butthat Izakoff could supply the documents so that Iraqcould produce them.• Huwaysh claimed that Iraq had contacted bothSyrian and Russian entities to discuss Iraq acquiringthe Iskander missile in 2002. Russia would notexport any military hardware with out an endusercertificate signed by the issuing governmentagency, which is the capacity in which Syria wouldhave served.Regime Financeand Procurement2001: Correspondence and Meetings Referring toSupplying Military GoodsDocuments recovered indicate that Firas Tlas metwith former Russian senior officials who offered tosupply Iraq with military equipment and technology,including production technology relating tosurface-to-surface missiles with a range of 700 km.ISG believes that in this particular case Firas Tlaswas acting as a facilitator attempting to supply Iraqwith goods of Russian origin, goods from Yemen, andexperts from China, South Africa, and Syria.• A recovered letter, dated 12 May 2001, was sent tothe Iraqi MOD from the Chairman of the Board ofthe MAS Economic Group offering cooperation insupplying military goods through bids and tenders.• Sources and documents suggest that Iraq wasactively seeking to obtain the SS-26/Iskander missilefrom Russia.• Document exploitation has revealed that FirasTlas, the son of former Syrian Defense MinisterLieutenant Mustafa Tlas, visited Iraq in July 2001and discussed a variety of missile systems andcomponents he could supply through Russia. Firasoffered to sell Iraq the S-300 SAM and the 270kmrange SS-26/Iskander-E short-range ballistic missile,or to provide assistance to help Iraq producethe Iskander. Firas claimed that he had previouslymet with Izakoff, the former Defense Minister ofthe Soviet Union, who told him that his [Izakoff’s]friend owned documents for “TEMPS” missiles• Tlas also mentioned that he met with a Yemenitradesman called “Shahir ‘Abd-al-Haq.” During thismeeting, the tradesman said the Iraqi Minister ofDefense sent him to see Tlas to help import Yemenispare military parts into Iraq. These Yemeni contractsincluded parts for MiG-21, a PMP pontoonbridge, and Ilyushin 76 military transport aircraft.• Tlas clarified that Shahir accompanied him onthe plane when he arrived in Iraq on 29 Jun 2001.Tlas was surprised when Shahir was not allowedaccess to Iraq and that he met with Tariq ‘Aziz, theDeputy Prime Minister, at the airport. Later Aziztold Tlas that Shahir was not allowed to enter Iraqbecause he “co-operates with the Israeli intelligence.”• In an internal memo from Major Quays Mahdi ofthe GMID, referred to his attendance at a 1 August2001 meeting. with a four-person Russian delegation,Mr. Tlas, and representatives of the Iraqi AirDefense, Air Force, and Army Aviation commands.According to this memo, the meeting took place inthe Commanding Officer’s Club. The Iraqi Directoratesrepresented were: Armaments, ElectricalMechanical Engineering, and Missiles. Staff ChiefMarshall Sa’ad of the MoD directed the meeting.• The Russian delegation at this meeting in August2001 included Paris Ivanovish, a specialist in thefields of the Volga and Bichora systems, as well asbeing a representative of a military factory that spe-285